Chennai City looking to implement 'combinative' football, hints assistant coach Jordi Villa

The Spaniard has heaped praise on the club's two new signings from his native.

After a disappointing season last time around, I-League outfit Chennai City were forced to let go of their star forwards Michael Soosairaj and Sinivasan Pandiyan. The moves were followed by the southerners bringing in an able replacement for former gaffer V. Soundrarajan in Singaporean strategist Mohammad Akbar Bin Abdul Nawas.

After the appointment of the new coach, the southerners completed the signing of former UD Las Palmas 'B' players Eslava Suarez and Sandro Rodriguez on long-term contracts. Assistant coach Jordi Villa, formerly associated with Spanish giants FC Barcelona gave his thoughts on the duo.

"Sandro will give us quality in our combinative football, (He has) vision for the last pass and can excellently shoot with his right foot. His second position is as a winger," said Villa. Rodriguez has played for UD Las Palmas 'B' and Tenerife among other sides, where the 27-year-old midfielder plied his trade in all categories including the first-team.

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Chennai City also roped in Suarez, who is also a former member of UD Las Palmas 'B.' The 30-year-old can play on both flanks as well as in the heart of the defence. An attack-minded defender, the former CD Marino man has a knack of scoring regularly as well. "Eslava is a fast defender with good positioning and strong in one-on-one situations," asserted villa while talking about his newest defensive option.

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Given the signings, it's understandable that the team from Coimbatore will adopt a Spanish style of play. With the likes of Anthony Beautin and Alexandro Romario already in their ranks, the signing of the Spanish duo will strengthen the southerners substantially.

Speaking about the successful signing of the Spanish duo, Chennai owner Rohit Ramesh said,  "We are delighted to have both of them in our squad. Hopefully, we should do better than last season."